[item]Glyph of Focus[/item] is being nerfed in 3.3.3. This seems to be mostly a PvP nerf, but obviously Starfall will still be a huge buff. I really didn’t think Focus was the way to go in PvE just because of the range nerf.

Glyph of Focus: Now increases the damage done by Starfall by 10%, down from 20%.

19 Comments for this entry

well this answers the focus/starfall question. Looking at our new setup I kinda wish I could just drop IS altogether, but there doesnty really seem to be any compelling alternative to spend the points on. I really wish they’d do something more with the nature part of the balance Druid seeing as we are now essentially an arcane caster with a nature spell

I agree but its another time PvE balance druids get screwed by restos and PvP. Brambles would be too op for pvp and while 5% per point of Genesis probably would make dots worthwhile, it would make tree Druid hots way too strong.

Genesis is even more worthless if you dont even use Insect Swarm.
You guys gotta remember that the last 3 points we invest are minor dps upgrades. It’s okay to say that Brambles, Genesis, Owlkin Frenzy are bad dps upgrades, but those 3 points wont be huge dps boosts anyways.
I heard owlkin frenzy has a nice uptime in most of the ICC fights. Brambles is nice if you can use your trees twice in a fight without them dying, and the bonus to thorns is a nice buff for tanks. i think genesis falls third with 3% more damage from dots and hurricane, which probably wont make a big difference if we drop Insect Swarm completely (which is why we’re having this discussion in the first place)
If you dont have Gale Winds i guess it also is a nice place to invest 2 points for most of the Trash, a few fights where typhoon is used and for Deathwhisper (i pseronnaly always Cyclone the mind controls)

If it didn’t have the range decrease i could see myself using it over glyph of MF but, until i have the chance to test the new starfall on something more than just a target dummy I’m unsure how big a dps increase it would be if at all.
In which case i then ask myself is MF even worth casting w/o the glyph?

I think a lot of people also miss when the buff is up. Personally, I use PowerAuras to track when it (and my 2pc T10 bonus) are active. I also try to force a Clearcast when I have Owlkin Frenzy for even larger numbers.

If nothing else, IS is something to cast when moving – which is often enough to justify keeping it given the other options.

I put a post up in my guild forum telling inscriptionists there might be some money to be made from the focus glyph. I probably should have hustled back in there and told them not to spool up 1k of the things.

Squawkbox

Latest on Mon, 08:16 am

Athosian: @Thravia - at 16.5k crit u can effectively stack mastery. But.. you must have the T16 4set in order to not loose out on procs.

Thravia: Hi Sunfyre.
According to all my calculations, and simulationcrafts, mastery is better than both haste and crit, and especially better than haste once you get past the GCD cap - so why are all balance druids going full on with crit/haste?
I am having trouble figuring out what is most effective, and I am currently creating a BiS list for 5.4, but I don't know if I should go with a mastery/haste build, or crit/haste.
Here is a chart of my stat weights, http://i.imgur.com/lQMfnFV.png (I am currently at 10300 haste, 16000 crit, and 547 item level)

Kogot: Hey! Just wanted to say thanks for having this page! I love it!

Sunfyre: Thravia: Not sure. I'm curious how this interacts with the nerf. If it's 8% on all targets, that'd be nice.

Sunfyre: Quiver: I'd stick with the lower BP until you can comfortably hit the higher one without sacrificing too much crit.

Thravia: Hi Sunfyre. Whats your thougths on the new T16 set bonus? It's been changed again.

Quiver: Hi Sunfyre!
I am low ilvl Boomkin (around 517). After getting the 1st haste breakpoint(5273) i started stacking as much crit as possible. If i squeeze my gear, i can get to the 2nd haste breakpoint (10296); now, my question is: should i somewhat neglect crit and go for that 2nd haste plateau?
Thanks in advance!

Manax: Hello Sunfyre, do you think balance druids one of the worst dps classes in mop? I mean... look at worldoflogs, there are no balance druids in the top dps sections at no boss. Always WL, Mages or hunter that are good on ranged bosses. And AOE dps poor too, compared to other classes. What do you think?

Sunfyre: It depends if you have RPPM proc'd items. If you have two RPPM items (or just the legendary meta), you'll want to do the pre-Solar start (and you immediately proc CA once you hit Solar).

Nodotx: Sunfyre, is one channelling pulse towards Lunar still the ideal opener? i.e. Starfall > Wrath > Lunar Eclipse?
I saw this reply recently on a thread:
"I'm not sure why OP still says start fight pre-lunar, long time ago I switched to Solar eclipse.
I pre pot, starfall, (one dot), CA + INCA (or 3x treants), dotting (by this time most if not all procs are up- both dots AND treants enjoy it) and starifre\ss, starfall again.
when u leave CA u auto moving to lunar eclipse- which get u 3rd starfall.
with the old opner, Until u enter lunar, and starfire\ss to 0 energy and poping ca- most procs are pretty much over :P"